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| EU-Turkey refugee deal: staff shortages and rights concerns pose twin threat | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Serious concerns have been raised about the viability and legality of the EU-Turkey refugee deal, just three days before its implementation, after rights campaigners alleged that Turkey has been deporting hundreds of refugees back to Syria on a daily basis in recent weeks, and the Greek asylum service said it needed more staff to make the deal work. | Serious concerns have been raised about the viability and legality of the EU-Turkey refugee deal, just three days before its implementation, after rights campaigners alleged that Turkey has been deporting hundreds of refugees back to Syria on a daily basis in recent weeks, and the Greek asylum service said it needed more staff to make the deal work. |
| In a double blow to the deal, the most senior Greek asylum official, Maria Stavropoulou, called for a 20-fold increase in personnel – just as Amnesty International alleged that unaccompanied children were among scores of Syrians illegally expelled from Turkey since January. Hours later, the UN refugee agency again called for a halt to the deal unless Turkey could ensure basic refugee rights. | In a double blow to the deal, the most senior Greek asylum official, Maria Stavropoulou, called for a 20-fold increase in personnel – just as Amnesty International alleged that unaccompanied children were among scores of Syrians illegally expelled from Turkey since January. Hours later, the UN refugee agency again called for a halt to the deal unless Turkey could ensure basic refugee rights. |
| Related: Refugee crisis: What does the EU's deal with Turkey mean? | Related: Refugee crisis: What does the EU's deal with Turkey mean? |
| The news came as hundreds of people detained on a Greek island fled their camp en masse, and other refugees began to sail from mainland Greece to Italy for the first time since eastern European governments began to block their onwards route through the Balkans last month. | The news came as hundreds of people detained on a Greek island fled their camp en masse, and other refugees began to sail from mainland Greece to Italy for the first time since eastern European governments began to block their onwards route through the Balkans last month. |
| Seeking to block off a migration route that brought over 800,000 refugees to Greece from Turkey last year, European and Turkish leaders are on Monday set to implement a deal that will see almost all asylum-seekers deported back to Turkey. The success of the deal rests on both Greece’s ability to process thousands of people in a short space of time, as well as Turkey’s ability to prove itself as a safe country for refugees. | Seeking to block off a migration route that brought over 800,000 refugees to Greece from Turkey last year, European and Turkish leaders are on Monday set to implement a deal that will see almost all asylum-seekers deported back to Turkey. The success of the deal rests on both Greece’s ability to process thousands of people in a short space of time, as well as Turkey’s ability to prove itself as a safe country for refugees. |
| Both factors were called into question on Friday, even as the Greek parliament voted to begin deportations on Monday. Stavropoulou said her department did not have enough people to process the claims of the many people who, prior to the deal, would simply have passed through Greece on their way to Germany and other wealthier European countries. | Both factors were called into question on Friday, even as the Greek parliament voted to begin deportations on Monday. Stavropoulou said her department did not have enough people to process the claims of the many people who, prior to the deal, would simply have passed through Greece on their way to Germany and other wealthier European countries. |
| “I’m worried about very many things, but the main worry now is about having the capacity to process all these claims,” Stavropoulou said in an interview with the Guardian. | “I’m worried about very many things, but the main worry now is about having the capacity to process all these claims,” Stavropoulou said in an interview with the Guardian. |
| “We have about 300 staff,” she added. “My estimate is that if we are asked to handle anything like half the flow of last year, then we need to have 20 times more capacity.” | “We have about 300 staff,” she added. “My estimate is that if we are asked to handle anything like half the flow of last year, then we need to have 20 times more capacity.” |
| The Greek government has already called for the European countries that have imposed the new deal to send 400 asylum experts to help Greece enact it. Just thirty are due to arrive on Sunday, and Stavropoulou said it would be a struggle to get them into action so quickly. | The Greek government has already called for the European countries that have imposed the new deal to send 400 asylum experts to help Greece enact it. Just thirty are due to arrive on Sunday, and Stavropoulou said it would be a struggle to get them into action so quickly. |
| “The situation is extremely volatile,” she said. “There is an expectation that experts can land in Greece and start working the next day. But to give one example of the kind of practical problem that we are dealing with: there aren’t even enough hotel rooms to fit all the experts.” | “The situation is extremely volatile,” she said. “There is an expectation that experts can land in Greece and start working the next day. But to give one example of the kind of practical problem that we are dealing with: there aren’t even enough hotel rooms to fit all the experts.” |
| To justify the deportation of so many people, the EU has argued that Turkey is a safe country for refugees – a controversial claim cast into further doubt on Friday by Amnesty International. The watchdog released a report that alleged that hundreds of Syrians have been forced back to Syria in the past few months – undermining their basic right to sanctuary on Turkish soil. | To justify the deportation of so many people, the EU has argued that Turkey is a safe country for refugees – a controversial claim cast into further doubt on Friday by Amnesty International. The watchdog released a report that alleged that hundreds of Syrians have been forced back to Syria in the past few months – undermining their basic right to sanctuary on Turkish soil. |
| Amnesty researchers in southern Turkey gathered multiple testimonies from Syrians whose relatives have been expelled from the country in contravention of international law, including children without their parents. Commenting on the allegations, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe and central Asia director, said: “In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day.” | Amnesty researchers in southern Turkey gathered multiple testimonies from Syrians whose relatives have been expelled from the country in contravention of international law, including children without their parents. Commenting on the allegations, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe and central Asia director, said: “In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day.” |
| Dalhuisen added: “Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite.” | Dalhuisen added: “Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite.” |
| The Turkish interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment, though Turkish officials have responded to similar allegations in the past by maintaining that Turkey respects international refugee law. | The Turkish interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment, though Turkish officials have responded to similar allegations in the past by maintaining that Turkey respects international refugee law. |
| The first 500 people to be returned under the deal are set to be deported on Monday, after Greek MPs voted to support the agreement on Friday. “On Monday it will begin,” Nikos Xydakis, Greece’s Europe minister, confirmed by phone from parliament. “Not the whole procedure – but the first step.” | The first 500 people to be returned under the deal are set to be deported on Monday, after Greek MPs voted to support the agreement on Friday. “On Monday it will begin,” Nikos Xydakis, Greece’s Europe minister, confirmed by phone from parliament. “Not the whole procedure – but the first step.” |
| Anyone who has applied for asylum in Greece will not be deported until their claims have been processed in the next two weeks, Xydakis said. Deportations in the immediate future will be limited, Xydakis said, to those have agreed voluntarily to return to Turkey. | Anyone who has applied for asylum in Greece will not be deported until their claims have been processed in the next two weeks, Xydakis said. Deportations in the immediate future will be limited, Xydakis said, to those have agreed voluntarily to return to Turkey. |
| But lawyers working on the ground in the Greek islands said it was still unclear whether those due to be deported on Monday truly understood their rights, or if those who wanted to apply for asylum were able to make their intentions clear to the Greek police. | But lawyers working on the ground in the Greek islands said it was still unclear whether those due to be deported on Monday truly understood their rights, or if those who wanted to apply for asylum were able to make their intentions clear to the Greek police. |
| As a result, the under-staffed Greek authorities may not be aware of all those who want to claim asylum in Greece, said Lora Pappa, president of METAdrasi, a charity that provides refugees with legal and humanitarian assistance. | As a result, the under-staffed Greek authorities may not be aware of all those who want to claim asylum in Greece, said Lora Pappa, president of METAdrasi, a charity that provides refugees with legal and humanitarian assistance. |
| “We don’t know who will be sent back on Sunday: people who really said they didn’t want to apply for asylum, or people who wanted to apply but couldn’t,” Pappa said. | “We don’t know who will be sent back on Sunday: people who really said they didn’t want to apply for asylum, or people who wanted to apply but couldn’t,” Pappa said. |
| She added: “It’s very difficult for all people to apply. If 1,000 people want to express their will to apply tomorrow, I don’t know if it’s possible for the authorities to process them.” Two days ago, a METAdrasi lawyer on the island of Chios found that the authorities’ computing system was out of service for several hours. | She added: “It’s very difficult for all people to apply. If 1,000 people want to express their will to apply tomorrow, I don’t know if it’s possible for the authorities to process them.” Two days ago, a METAdrasi lawyer on the island of Chios found that the authorities’ computing system was out of service for several hours. |
| Stavropoulou is confident that those seeking asylum will be assessed properly, with several safeguards built into the legislation adopted by the Greek parliament on Friday, she argued. “We will make sure that [in the battle] between speed and a fair process, we will go for a fair process,” Stavropoulou said. | Stavropoulou is confident that those seeking asylum will be assessed properly, with several safeguards built into the legislation adopted by the Greek parliament on Friday, she argued. “We will make sure that [in the battle] between speed and a fair process, we will go for a fair process,” Stavropoulou said. |
| But this week, that goal seemed very remote to many of the asylum-seekers detained on the island since the deal was first announced two weeks. On Chios, 1,600 migrants are kept in a camp meant for 1,100 people – and tensions there on Thursday led to a spate of fighting between frustrated asylum-seekers, with three treated for stab wounds. After tensions died down, around half of the detained marched out of the camp on Friday to reach a nearby village, Greek media reported. | But this week, that goal seemed very remote to many of the asylum-seekers detained on the island since the deal was first announced two weeks. On Chios, 1,600 migrants are kept in a camp meant for 1,100 people – and tensions there on Thursday led to a spate of fighting between frustrated asylum-seekers, with three treated for stab wounds. After tensions died down, around half of the detained marched out of the camp on Friday to reach a nearby village, Greek media reported. |
| Thousands more are stuck in the Greek mainland, after Macedonia shut its border in mid-March. Those with families have largely stayed put, but some are already trying other means of getting to the rest of Europe. On Friday, the UN refugee agency reported that a boat of 21 Syrians, Iraqis and Somalians had reached southern Italy – the first to arrive from Greece since the closure of the Macedonian border. | Thousands more are stuck in the Greek mainland, after Macedonia shut its border in mid-March. Those with families have largely stayed put, but some are already trying other means of getting to the rest of Europe. On Friday, the UN refugee agency reported that a boat of 21 Syrians, Iraqis and Somalians had reached southern Italy – the first to arrive from Greece since the closure of the Macedonian border. |
| In Turkey, officials in the port of Dikili were preparing on Friday to receive the first batch of deportees next week – but exact details were shrouded in mystery. “We are struggling to understand it ourselves,” said Pırıl Erçoban, the director of Multeci-Der, a refugee-focused NGO based in the area. “Everything is so vague and unclear.” | In Turkey, officials in the port of Dikili were preparing on Friday to receive the first batch of deportees next week – but exact details were shrouded in mystery. “We are struggling to understand it ourselves,” said Pırıl Erçoban, the director of Multeci-Der, a refugee-focused NGO based in the area. “Everything is so vague and unclear.” |